Watch First 2 Cobra Kai Episodes for Free Right Now

The long-awaited YouTube Red series Cobra Kai is now available to stream for free on the exclusive platform. It's been over 30 years since the events of The Karate Kid and a lot has changed for Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso and William Zabka's Johnny Lawrence. LaRusso is seemingly on top of the world, running a car dealership while Lawrence seems to have fallen on some hard times, which sees him reopen the Cobra Kai dojo in the Valley, leading to a new run-in with LaRusso.

The Cobra Kai series is exclusively on YouTube Red, so in a genius marketing move, the platform is offering the first two episodes for free in an attempt to gain some new subscribers. Fans of The Karate Kid have been skeptical of the Cobra Kai series, but it isn't what it seems. This is very much a comedy that tells the story of these beloved characters as they navigate today's world instead of their glory days of the mid 1980s.

The Karate Kid is the source material for the 10 thirty-minute episodes of Cobra Kai, setting the motivations for the characters in the present tense. There are flashbacks from the original movie along with visual callbacks as well. The source material is held in high regard by Josh Heald, co-writer of Hot Tub Time Machine, and Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who co-wrote the Harold and Kumar movies. Additionally, The Karate Kid is held in high regard by Ralph Macchio who was initially very skeptical of joining the project before it had been initially pitched to him. Once he knew what the deal was, he immediately signed on.

If Ralph Macchio is okay with the Cobra Kai series, most fans of The Karate Kid should be too. And now, the show is available to watch for free, so fans can see what they're getting into before deciding to throw down some hard-earned cash for a YouTube Red subscription. Though the show isn't the only reason to sign up for the Red platform. Not having to sit through ads is also a big incentive as is being able to watch the rest of the original material that YouTube Red has been putting out lately.

The first two episodes of Cobra Kai are officially available to watch for free on YouTube Red right now, which should be pretty exciting for fans of The Karate Kid. The first episode is entitled Ace Degenerate while the second episode is called Strike First. The first two episodes were first premiered at special screenings that were also paired with The Karate Kid, and the response has been positive thus far. As for whether or not Cobra Kai will resonate with fans, that will take some time to figure out. You can watch the first two episodes of Cobra Kai below, thanks to the Cobra Kai YouTube channel.